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GEORGIA TECH HEAD COACH Paul Johnson
Opening Statement
It’s good to get back and play a game at our home stadium. I thought that the crowd that was there was really good and got into the game. Especially for a game that ended up being as lopsided as that one was. Next week we come back home and hopefully we’ll have a good crowd to take on a 2-0 Virginia team and an important conference game.
I thought that for the most part defensively we played really well. Especially once we started settling some guys, we gave up a few plays, but I thought overall that they played well. Offensively, we were ok in spots, but we were sloppy. We had the ball out too much. We’ve got an issue or two there we have to correct, but anytime you can win it’s a positive. Certainly, the kids from Presbyterian played hard and they never gave up. They tried hard, but they were a little bit overmatched. We’ll take it, watch the tape, learn from it and move on. I thought some of the young kids played well. We had a lot of freshmen playing. It was good to have a game where you can get those guys out there and hopefully next time they go out there, they won’t be as wide eyed and doing some silly stuff at times.
On Louis Young getting reps before the Virginia game next week
Yes, we wanted to get some reps to the young guys. I wanted them to get some reps in both halves and we did. Last week is not the place to put a guy in that hasn’t played. That’s an awfully tough place to play up there and that game wasn’t for the fated hearted for guys who hadn’t played a lot. I think that all those guys did some good things. Zach Laskey did good things, but he has to work on his blocking. We didn’t play David [Sims] or Orwin [Smith] much or some of the guys, we wanted to make sure we have them healthy for next week. A lot of guys played. I think pretty much offensively we got pretty much everybody in there. Defensively, we got a lot of guys in there. We might have got a guy or two who didn’t play, but not very many. So that’s a positive. That’s good for morale.
On the quarterback play
I thought that it was ok. It was spotty at first. Certainly they had some big plays, both of them. They made a couple nice throws. Tevin [Washington] made a nice throw to Robby [Godhigh] on the corner route. Vad [Lee] made a nice throw to Jeff Greene. We just have to be more consistent. We threw the ball a little better when we were protected better.
On the fumble PC took back and the importance of the stop on that play
It’s important. It’s a great lesson. I told our guys at half time and I singled out Tony Zenon for making a great effort to run the guy down. You never know when you are going to keep points off the board. It was a great play by him, but it’s disappointing we let it on the ground. Anytime you can keep them out of the endzone is important. You never lose a game where they don’t score.
On the play that led to the fumble
It was a quarterback draw, but it was a really high snap. He did a good job to get the snap, but it was a called quarterback draw.
On what to take away from the game
I think there were a lot of positives. I don’t care who you play, if you get those big plays you are doing some things right. Defensively, we tipped a lot of passes and got in the throwing lanes. I think that when you look at the tape there are going to be some guys who made some good plays like always. Are there going to be things we need to clean up? Sure, there are in every game. So the guys who haven’t played as much will feel a little more comfortable the next time they go out there. You take it and build on it.
The receivers were a little bit shaky early, but if you think about it they haven’t played a whole lot. I thought they played better in the second half after they’d had a chance to run some plays on the ball.
On the benefits of using the depth on the roster
It benefits everybody. It benefits us as coaches to see guys in game experience and not just in practice. We got a chance to look at a lot of guys. We got Broderick Snoddy in there some and I thought he was really quick off the ball. We played Zach [Laskey], Charles Perkins, Broderick, Matt Connors – we went about four deep at most every position. We played our freshmen receiver a lot and Adrian Autry, he’ll get to see what it looks like and how it runs. A couple times we got lost, but until you play you don’t know what’s going to happen. It’s the same on defense. We got some of the young defensive backs in. I thought Chris Milton made some really nice plays coverage wise. It was good to get a lot of guys in there.
On making the big plays
I think that what has happened is up until tonight is we’ve played some really good defenses the last couple games. I think the crowd we played Monday night was pretty solid. I lot of the big plays were individual guys breaking in the clear, breaking the tackle. When you’re physically over matched it becomes easier to hit big plays. Their corners were islands, trying to play the run so hard so it was a lot of one-on one.
On the progress of the special teams
I thought we were adequate. I know without even looking at the tape that we turned a guy loose on the punt again. We’re fortunate he didn’t get there. I think Dave [Scully] has done a good job. He brings a lot of enthusiasm. I think the kids are enjoying playing. We’ve got to get better there too and we’ve got to get better on the return game.
GEORGIA TECH PLAYER QUOTES
Vad Lee R-FR QB #2
On his first action
“It was amazing. It took me a couple of snaps to get right and get back in football shape. I know after that long run I was kind of winded a bit. It’s definitely tough sitting out a whole year and then going back in. I think I got some things accomplished today. I think that I took a step forward rather than a step back, I’m just blessed with this opportunity. I thank God. He’s been number 1 in my life. I listen to Him and be patient and let things develop.”
On his touchdown pass to Jeff Greene
“At first I knew I had Jeff Greene who is a great receiver over there. I knew they had man coverage the whole game. The offensive line did great on protection on that play. It was a post-corner route, so a double route. I saw Jeff [Greene] collide with the corner and I knew Jeff would get off of him so I wanted to throw it up and lead him a little bit and give him time to go get it and make a play.”
Zach Laskey SO BB #37
On his first Touchdown
“It’s pretty special. I knew coming into the game I had a chance to make some big plays. The o-line stepped up and did everything right and executed well. It’s pretty special. I’ll always remember that.”
Jeff Greene R-FR WR #81
On the play of the defense
“I felt like I came out energetic. We always get pumped up before the game but we were just ready to show what we can do in ACC play. As a defense we got tired of hearing the talk that we can’t get to the quarterback and I just heard from Wes [Durham] that we had seven sacks in the game so it was a you an the team kind of mentality. Everybody does what you need to do and as a team we’ll be together collectively. I feel like that was my mentality going into the game.”
Jamal Golden R-FR S #4
On his interception
“We had a check to a three by one formation where I roll down and play the hook. Basically I read his eyes and they tried to throw the slant pattern behind me and I jumped in front of it. I had a similar play in the first half. Basically it was the exact same play but it got tipped down by one of our linemen at the line of scrimmage. I was looking forward to getting the opportunity again. “
Izaan Cross SR DE #94
On the goalline stand
“We really wanted to shut them out. We were very motivated and we didn’t want them to score at all. That’s pretty much what it boiled out to. We just put all our effort and it was very exciting. The crowd went crazy. An awesome moment.”
PRESBYTERIAN HEAD COACH HAROLD NICHOLS
“Our kids played hard all night. We were a victim of big plays and some missed tackles. Their guys get out there, and they’re so fast, you can’t catch them. You’ve got to give them credit. They’re a big-play offense, and they took advantage of some matchups and did a nice job with that.
“We’ve got to go back to work. I told our guys in the locker room that they played hard. Outside of some missed tackles here and there and some turnovers on offense, and some miscommunications, we played relatively hard. When you get beat 59-3, it’s hard to find some positives in it, but I’ll give my kids credit that they played hard the entire game, and it looked like football. They did a nice job as fars as that goes, but we’ve got a lot of work to do.
“We did some good things, improving from week one to week two, and that was something we wanted to do. You’ve got to give credit to Georgia Tech; they’re an FBS bowl team, they’ll be in the top 20 and probably go to a bowl again this year. They’re really talented defensively. Coach Groh does a lot of things that make it hard for you to prepare for.
“We did some things defensively that got them into lost yardage plays, and [Tech] put the ball on the ground a few times. I give our kids credit. They’re around the football. They’re putting a hat on the ball and doing a nice job in some of those things. With that offense they run, the ball is in the air a good bit, so there are some opportunities for some take-aways. It was good to see us get some turnovers and get themselves off the field.”
